Auburn’s running backs have had a great offseason and are expected to be a strength of the offense, however, their success has some wondering if they are that good or if Auburn’s run defense needs improvement.
“We’ll find out more Saturday.” [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] said Monday. Are we effective running the football kind of team against other opponents or has our defense made us look that good? I think when you start getting into a game week and start game planning and you figure out that this is what we’re going to try to do, hopefully we’ll be in the right spots and play well on both sides. That’s the hope.”
Senior tight end [autotag]Luke Deal[/autotag] is confident that Auburn’s running backs are just that good and that Auburn will have success running the ball this year.
“I think our running game is really good. I think you guys have seen it, even in the past. There are some familiar names in that running back room who have done some really great things at Auburn so far. Jarquez (Hunter) is an incredible back, that entire room, Damari (Alston), Sean (Jackson), even Jeremiah (Cobb), a young guy coming up, (Brian) Battie all those guys are really really good players.
“We’ve got such a talented room that I would lean on the side that we have a really good run game and we’ve seen production in the past. I’m excited to see how that works out against another defense.”
“Hopefully, our defense stops that run too against UMass.”
Auburn’s five running backs each bring something different but together they give Auburn a deep and talented rotation that should be able to keep all of them fresh during the game. They are also set to benefit from Auburn’s reworked offensive line, which has three transfers set to start.
UMass has already played one game on the season, a 41-30 win over New Mexico State, and struggled to stop the run. The Minutemen allowed 222 yards and one touchdown on the ground as the Aggies rushed for 5.8 yards per carry.
Auburn will look to enjoy similar success when they face UMass on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game is set to start at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be on ESPN.
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